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Calcutta, India

Constructing coffins out of bamboo could be one way to curb rampant deforestation in northeastern India, according to a youth group in Mizoram that has launched a movement to develop eco-friendly methods of burial for the state’s Christians.

The idea, proposed by the Young Mizo Association, has been lauded by the state’s minister of environment and forests, H. Rohluna. Some 98 percent of the state’s population is Christian, many of whom use expensive teak and sal trees for coffins because of their durability and high density.